JCB Debuts QR Codes In South Asia

JCB subsidiary CB International has rolled out a new EMV QR code payment service that will allow the cardholder to make contactless payments using a QR Code.

According to a report in The Verdict citing CB International, the new payment service was launched in Taiwan and Vietnam and enables customers to scan a QR code at the merchant point of sale via their mobile phones. The idea is to expand the service into three more Asian countries sometime in 2019, reported The Verdict. The report noted that in Taiwan Bank SinoPac is supporting the service, while the lender plans to make it available to merchants in the fish, flower and taxi markets in the new year. The report noted Bank SinoPac plans to expand the service to over 3,000 merchants. In the case of Vietnam, The Verdict reported Sacombank is supporting the mobile payment business. “We hope that JCB QR Code Payment service will not only help create a new payment mode/interface, but also become a strong tool to realize the cashless society,” said Daisuke Sakurai, JCB executive vice president of business development and coordination headquarters I, in the report.

The push on the part of the JCB unit to embraced digital payments in Asia comes at a time when the adoption rate is picking up big time. According to a recent report from RBR, the research and consulting firm for the banking and retail industries, the number of merchants that accept card payments around the world has jumped 13 percent in 2017, to 69.2 million. The firm found based on the research that Asia-Pacific and Central and Eastern Europe are the two regions that are seeing the most growth. RBR pointed to new regulation as part of the reason for the growth. In India, the government’s move to place caps on terminal charges and pressure on banks to recruit more merchants also played a role in the growth.